Hidden Talents
by Glory For Sleep
Summary: "Hidden talents…everyone has one. I'm sure you're good at something else other than just guarding…stuff." Lugia/Latios


Hey peoples!

Well, this is a oneshot for the LugiaxLatios pairing. It's my half of a fic trade I'm doing with the awesome Blazing Sceptile, so I hope he likes it. Anyone else who's reading this - I hope you like it, too. :D

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon

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**Hidden Talents****

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-ooo-

It all started with a simple order.

"Latios? Why don't you take the job?"

The blue-and-white dragon known as Latios could only emit a startled grunt, widened gaze darting up to meet the golden eyes of Arceus.

"W-what?" he said.

The God Pokemon – Arceus – cocked his head, standing tall on his pedestal that overlooked the cathedral-sized meeting room of the Hall of Legends – a temple in the heavens where the Legendaries gathered together to converse, discussing the duties each one of them had to perform in order to keep the world spinning.

"I haven't much asked you to do anything recently, Latios," Arceus said, his voice firm, though his arched eyebrow swayed any sense of sternness from his expression and tone. "Come to think of it, I've never much asked you to do anything during your whole time as a member of this council…"

"I already have a job to do," Latios muttered. "You know, returning to Alto Mare and guarding both it and the Soul Dew? That's always been my job."

Arceus raised a hoof. "Yes, but the other Legendaries have similar jobs – guarding things, I mean – and yet as you can see, they're currently engorged in doing the activities I need assistance with around the Hall."

Latios turned his head, examining the meeting room around him. Arceus was right – his fellow Legendaries were scattered throughout the room, in the midst of performing tasks that either involved discussing how to fix problems that were currently burdening the inhabitants of planet Earth, or just tending to the daily needs of the Hall of Legends. One example of a working duo was Darkrai and Cresselia, who were currently debating on the ratio of sweet dreams and nightmares that were to be given to mortals that week.

After every meeting between the Legendaries, it was always like this for a few hours in the meeting room before everyone took off and returned to Earth for the day. During these post-meeting sessions, Latios would always head back to Alto Mare, seeing as how Arceus usually never asked him to stick around and help out with any of the jobs that involved the Hall or discussions about the things that needed to be tended to on Earth. His one and only job had always been to guard the town of Alto Mare, the Soul Dew, and his sister, Latias; it had always been that way, and it was somewhat strange to see that Arceus was attempting to bend this usual routine.

Then again, it was not like Latios could disobey Arceus…

"Well…" Latios shrugged, ignoring how awkward his words sounded. "I guess I could help out around here. Uh…what exactly do you need help with?"

Arceus flashed him a smile, though it faded when he turned his head to gaze upon the other Legendaries. "A small party – as you know, it's a tradition for the Legendary council to gather and celebrate our existence as the protectors of the world and all of life. Tomorrow, I'm planning to hold one of these parties."

Latios' ears twitched. "Oh, yeah – I heard about that."

"Well, as you can see, your fellow Legendaries are helping me prepare for the celebration."

Latios blinked, turning his head to examine his fellow Legendaries again. It was then when he noticed that not only were they all conversing about their usual duties they had to perform on Earth, but they were also discussing ideas for the said party; some Legendaries were even starting to carry in boxes of decorations that had been fetched from the mortal inhabitants of Earth. Latios was surprised he hadn't noticed any of this before, though at the same time he blamed that on the fact that he'd been too busy preparing to leave for Alto Mare once the post-meeting session began to notice what the Legendaries were doing during it.

"What exactly do you want me to do…?" Latios asked, sounding slightly intimidated for a reason that was beyond him.

"I just need you to help with the decorations," said Arceus. He frowned. "It wounds up that Mew brought regular art supplies rather than full-fledged decorations, so we're going to have to make most of the decorations from scratch."

"You mean…as in an arts-and-crafts-type of thing?"

"Yes, you could call it that." Arceus smiled. "Surely you can handle that, right? I know that your sister is quite skilled in drawing, and with that fact that you're around her so much…you undoubtedly know something of the practice."

Latios opened his mouth to say something, but found it closing a few seconds later. _Arts and crafts? _he thought, turning his eyes to the ground. An unexplained tinge of uneasiness swept through him, but he pushed it aside and firmed himself. _Yeah, I can do that. Of course I can do that!_

"Consider it done," the blue-and-white dragon said, nodding confidently.

"Great," Arceus replied, his smile returning. "Oh, and one more thing before you get started." He turned his head, gold-colored eyes hunting for a specific Legendary that was lost within the crowd. He hummed when he spotted her looming in the corner of the room, glancing over her fellow Legendaries with what looked like a bored gaze. "Ah, Lugia!" he called. "May you come here, please?"

The sea dragon, Lugia, shot her head up as if she had just been awoken from a trancelike state. She met Arceus' eyes, walking over with a bewildered frown covering her beak, though it cracked into an arrogant grin when she was close enough to speak. "Hey, Arceus," she said, waving her wing. "What can I do for you?"

"I've assigned Latios here to help with the decorations for tomorrow's celebration," the God Pokemon replied, pointing a hoof in the said blue-and-white dragon's direction.

Lugia glanced at Latios, and she blinked as if stunned. Of course, she had a reason to be stunned by Latios' presence – usually he was long gone now, already heading back to Alto Mare to continue his one and only job of guarding both it and the Soul Dew; even she knew that that was his single routine and Arceus had never asked much more from him.

"I was wondering," Arceus continued, breaking Lugia from her thoughts, "if you could help him with this task. It will most definitely get done faster if you two work together."

Lugia switched her gaze between Arceus and Latios. She was quite close to Latios – they had been friends ever since they were first created and assigned as members of the Legendary council – and whenever they bumped into one another they tended to share a word or two. He always talked about how stressful it was sometimes to be such a loyal guardian to Alto Mare, the Soul Dew, and his sister, and remembering this only added more weirdness to the fact that he was lingering behind during a post-meeting session rather than rushing back to Alto Mare to continue the aforementioned duties.

"Sure," the sea dragon eventually said, pushing the previous matter aside, "I can help out Latios here."

The edge of Latios' mouth quirked upward. "Thanks."

Arceus nodded. "Excellent. I suppose you two can get started now. Good luck."

With that, Lugia and Latios departed for the other side of the room, where boxes of paper and art materials sat, waiting for the attention of whomever had been assigned to work on them. Before the two dragons could tend to the supplies, though, Lugia turned her head to Latios.

"Quite weird seeing you here," she said. "Shouldn't you be in Alto Mare right now guarding…stuff?"

Latios froze in place, though he quickly shook his surprise away. "Arceus has asked me to help out around the Hall. I can't disobey him."

"I know, but it just seems weird. I've never seen you doing anything else other than guarding…stuff."

Latios frowned, but said nothing.

Lugia suddenly laughed. "But that's okay!" she said, slapping Latios on the back playfully, which caused the blue-and-white dragon to stumble forward slightly. "I like having you around! This'll be great bonding time for us, and we can make some kickass-looking decorations while we're at it and make everyone else jealous of our mad decoration-making skills!"

An uneasy smile made its way to Latios' face. "Er…yeah." He turned his eyes to the decorations.

_Arts and crafts…it can't be that hard._

He firmed himself and reached for a red piece of construction paper, noticing that Lugia had done the same. He watched her as she used her tail to fold the paper into various shapes, then using her teeth to carve out certain parts until she could mold it into the figure she wanted – red-colored silhouettes of her fellow Legendaries that would fit the theme of the celebration. Latios couldn't help but drop his jaw slightly at how fast she was able to work, already having two figures done when he was sill staring dumbfounded at his own piece of paper. It was as if she was a professional, and the somewhat-bored look on her face suggested that the task was no challenge for her.

He glanced down at the piece of paper in his claws. He had never drawn or folded anything in his life, completely clueless to what the term 'origami' even meant – or anything artistic, for that matter. Arceus was right when he said that his sister, Latias, was quite the skilled artist, but he was wrong with the theory that Latios was also skilled in the said practices because of her.

He shook the thought away, scolding himself for wasting time pondering on his possible faults. He refused to allow himself to give up so easily.

After all, it couldn't be _that _hard.

So with a determined expression, he began folding the paper, twisting it in every direction he possibly could, modeling it after one of his fellow Legendaries. He folded and folded until he couldn't fold it anymore, and a few minutes later he placed the 'finished' origami figure on the box in front of him – right next to the large pile of perfectly-designed figures Lugia had managed to create in that entire time.

Lugia turned her head to examine his finished product.

Her face fell.

"…Is that a wheelbarrow?"

Latios nearly tumbled over at her words, and he glared at her. "No! It's Groudon!"

Lugia focused her eyes on the figure once more, trying to fight her urge to grimace. "Oh…"

Silence.

"…Since when was Groudon a wheelbarrow?"

Latios groaned with aggravation, turning his head the other way. "All right! All right! So I'm not good at arts and crafts! There – I said it!"

Lugia frowned. "That's clearly evident."

"Just because Latias is artistic doesn't mean I am," Latios said, crossing his arms.

Sympathy crossed Lugia's eyes. "Well-"

"And besides, I'm a guardian, not an artist! Bleh!"

"All right," Lugia cut in, not quite sure whether Latios' sudden jumpiness was either due to disappointment, or the fear of letting Arceus down, "so you're not good at arts and crafts. Big whoop. I'm sure you're good at other stuff, though."

Latios glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Like?"

"Uh…" Lugia turned her eyes to the floor. "Like…uh…" She frowned. "Well, crap. I can't really think of anything. All I've ever seen you do is guard Alto Mare, guard the Soul Dew, and guard your sister."

Latios opened his mouth to protest, but it closed a few seconds later once he realized that Lugia was right. That's all he ever did – guard Alto Mare, guard the Soul Dew, and guard his sister. He had never been assigned to do anything else, and, therefore, did that mean he wasn't good at anything else? Like Darkrai's ability to scare people or Raikou's skills in pranking? His sister's drawing talents? Arceus' experience in leadership?

"What…can I do?" he mumbled, eyes falling to the golden floor.

Lugia struggled to find something to say. "Hey…you can guard…stuff."

Latios rolled his eyes. "That's not a talent. Every Legendary guards something. Isn't a talent supposed to define you as an individual?"

Lugia shrugged. "Well…yeah…but-"

"Like your ability to sing beautifully."

Lugia blinked, feeling her heart skip a beat. "You think I sing beautifully?"

Latios turned around, oblivious to Lugia's stunned expression, which faded away at that instant. He crossed his arms again. "Every Legendary is good at something…but I don't seem to be. All I ever do is guard Alto Mare, guard the Soul Dew, and guard my sister. Am I good at anything else?"

A frown crossed Lugia's face. She couldn't help but feel annoyed at Latios' lack of self-esteem; such an attitude completely contradicted her usual arrogant ways. "Hey, listen here. You and I've been best pals since…ever…and I sure as hell don't want to see you being all emo like this. Hidden talents…everyone has one. I'm sure you're good at something else other than just guarding…stuff."

Latios met her eyes, blinking in surprise at her words. "You…really think so?"

"Of course," Lugia said, smirking. "You may not be good at making a paper wheelbarrow-"

"Groudon."

"-but I'm sure you're good at something else. In fact, you and I are going to find that hidden talent…today! I assure you of that."

Latios couldn't help but smile. "Wow…thanks, Lugia."

"No problem," Lugia said, beaming. "That's what friends are for, right?" She turned to the box of art materials. "But, first, let me finish these decorations so Arceus doesn't kick our asses."

Latios nodded, his eyes wandering over to his origami figure of Groudon.

He grimaced.

He hoped Groudon couldn't see it.

-ooo-

"All right, first possible 'hidden talent' we'll tackle from the list is…"

Lugia hummed, eyes raising to the ceiling of the Hall's meeting room in thought.

It had taken the sea dragon a few hours to finish all of the decorations, but once they were done she submitted them to Arceus and requested dismissal from work, which the God Pokemon allowed since all of the Legendaries were beginning to turn in for the day. Now, instead of working, they all lingered among the meeting room of the Hall of Legends, just talking about things in general. Laughs emitted from groups of Legendaries as conversations flourished, filling the air with meshed voices that seemed to bounce off of the golden walls and floor.

Latios floated beside Lugia, waiting patiently for her to finish her words. Simultaneously, he glanced around, wondering where Latias was in the midst of the crowd.

"Jokes!" Lugia suddenly said, snapping her fingerlike appendages.

Latios' face fell. "Jokes?"

Lugia grinned at him. "Yes, jokes, as in joke-telling! You can be a funny guy when you want to be, so why don't we give it a try?"

"Well…"

"Eh, come on! I'm sure you can make at least one of the Legendaries around here laugh! Look, I'm laughing right now!"

Latios frowned at her.

Lugia swallowed hard. "Yeah, okay, not helping. Um…" She glanced around, searching for a group of Legendaries that could possibly serve as Latios' audience. She smiled when she caught sight of Heatran, Mew, and Deoxys, bunched up together into a small pack, conversing in the corner of the meeting room. She pointed to them. "Look! Heatran, Mew, and Deoxys! Perfect! Go tell them a joke!"

"I don't know about this…" Latios muttered.

Lugia narrowed her eyes. "Oh, just get up there before I smack you."

At that, Latios forced himself forward, glancing back at Lugia one last time – and only to meet her annoyed gaze and jabbing finger that was pointing him in the direction of Heatran, Mew, and Deoxys. He sighed and continued onward, eventually coming upon the group. Deoxys seemed to have the others engorged in a conversation about Mewtwo, and therefore Latios felt slightly rude butting into it all. However, he knew he wouldn't get anywhere if he didn't try his hand at joke-telling…

"Hey, guys," he said, floating forward. Immediately, the words flowing between Heatran, Mew, and Deoxys stopped, and they all turned their eyes to the blue-and-white dragon, appearing slightly surprised at his random interest in them. He froze, suddenly lacking words to say.

_Crap, I don't know any jokes!_

"Um…" he began, eyes wandering around the room as he attempted to remember stuff he had heard off the street. "What do you call cheese that isn't yours?"

Heatran, Mew, and Deoxys blinked.

"Nacho cheese!"

At that, Latios burst out into laughter, holding his stomach. Whether he was laughing because the joke was actually funny, or he was trying to convince the others to laugh, was beyond him. However, he kept on laughing, despite that Heatran, Mew, and Deoxys only exchanged bewildered glances.

"Um…" he eventually said, slowly cutting off his exaggerating cachinnation. He noticed that his audience was staring at him, their faces void of any sense of humorous satisfaction, and rather filled with what looked like slight uneasiness. He backed away, deciding that it was better to end it there instead of making it worse. "Uh, yeah. Well, that's it - gotta go!"

He snapped around and sped off.

Silence.

Suddenly, Mew broke out into laughter. "Nacho cheese!" she said. "I get it! Hah!" She frowned. "Aw, now I'm hungry…"

Deoxys and Heatran only stared at her, then shaking their heads in disappointment.

Meanwhile, Latios nearly bumped into Lugia in the midst of desperately trying to flee the scene.

"Dude," Lugia moaned, "that was _painful _to watch."

"Shut up!" Latios hissed. "It's obvious I'm not good at joke-telling either!"

Lugia sighed. "All right, so that was a failed operation. No big deal. Joke-telling just isn't your hidden talent. Don't worry, we'll find your hidden talent soon enough."

Latios crossed his arms. "I highly doubt that."

"Hey," Lugia said, "stop being all depressed. We're gonna find your hidden talent if it kills me." She turned around. "Come on, I got a few more suggestions up my sleeve."

Latios grunted, reluctantly following the sea dragon.

-ooo-

The kitchen of the Hall of Legends consisted of white walls, white tiled flooring, white cabinets, white countertops, and other white-colored objects that seemed to contradict the gold color scheme of the outside hallways and rooms. It was here where meals for the Legendaries were prepared when they had to stay over in the Hall for an extended period of time (in which all of the cooking was usually done by Entei, who was quite good at it), or when they simply craved a snack from the culinary's vast selection of edible items the smaller members of the council had managed to retrieve from the mortal inhabitants of planet Earth.

Latios wandered his eyes over the area, having never been in the kitchen that whole much. The air was cool – a comfortable temperature – though this didn't take away the uneasiness dwelling up inside of the blue-and-white dragon; somehow, he knew that what Lugia was planning to have them try next in the search for his hidden talent was to be something he wouldn't quite favor.

"Why are we here?" Latios asked, switching his gaze to Lugia, who was circling the big counter that halved the kitchen in two.

"To try your claw at another possible hidden talent, of course."

"And that would be…?"

Lugia hummed. "Isn't that evident?" She waved her wing outwards, grinning. "Cooking!"

Latios nearly choked on his saliva. "W-what?! Cooking?!"

"Yes, cooking. It's something Entei can do. Maybe you can do it, too."

"I really don't think so. I probably have the cooking skills of a twig."

"No," Lugia said, bringing her wing up, "Arceus has the cooking skills of a twig." She suddenly frowned, squirming in place. "Uh, don't tell him I said that."

Latios frowned. "Really, Lugia, I don't-"

"How do you know you're not good at it?" Lugia cocked her head. "Have you ever tried it?"

"Well, no…but-"

"Then, it's settled," said Lugia. "Cooking is most likely your hidden talent, I can feel it!"

"Didn't you feel the same way about my joke-telling?"

Lugia rolled her eyes. "Please, Latios, that was, like, five minutes ago. Water under a bridge, or whatever you call it. This is something different!"

The sea dragon turned around, opening up a nearby cabinet, which revealed shelves of organized boxes and spices – cooking materials Entei had gathered for his practices in the culinary arts. She scanned her eyes over the options available, the corner of her mouth twitching upward when an appropriate choice came into view. She reached forward and grabbed a red box, then pivoting around to place it on the countertop right in front of Latios.

Latios cocked his head, squinting his eyes to read the small print that ran along the box's side. "…Cookies?"

"_Chocolate-chip_ cookies," Lugia corrected.

Latios pulled back as if he'd been hit in the face. "Oh, hell no! I am not baking cookies!"

Lugia crossed her wings. "And why not?"

"Because baking cookies is for…cookie-bakers."

"And how do you know you're not one of these 'cookie-bakers'?"

"Because I have the cooking skills of a twig!"

Lugia slapped herself in the face, though she forced herself to put on a reassuring grin. "Come on, Latios, just give it a try! Cooking might very well be your hidden talent, but yet you're not even willing to try it."

A sigh escape Latios' mouth once he realized that Lugia was right. He glanced at the box of chocolate-chip cookie mix, gulping down the lump of uneasiness that had settled itself in his throat. "Fine," he eventually said out of the corner of his mouth. "I suppose I can give it a try."

"That's what I like to hear!"

_Cooking, _Latios mentally muttered to himself. _It can't be _that_ hard…can it?_

…Didn't he say the same thing about arts and crafts?

The blue-and-white dragon shook the thought away, reaching for the box and scanning his eyes over the directions listed on the back. "Needed ingredients," he read, "eggs, milk, vegetable oil, water…" He glanced at the cupboards all around him. "Simple enough," he said, and after fetching the required materials and placing them beside an empty bowl on the counter, he followed the first step outlined in the directions: mixing together all of the gathered ingredients. He added the water, vegetable oil, and milk, then turning his attention to the eggs. He cocked his head at the sight of them; he had never been in a situation where he had to add eggs to anything, and therefore he couldn't help but stare at them somewhat dumbfounded-like as he held them up in his claws.

"You're supposed to break them and put all of the stuff that's inside into the bowl," Lugia said, leaning up against the wall on the other side of the room, watching Latios attempt to cook as if she were a judge of some sort.

Latios stumbled, but then glared. "I knew that!"

Of course he knew that!

Lugia shrugged. "Just making sure."

Latios huffed, turning around and doing the aforementioned – cracking the eggs on the side of the bowl and adding their yolks to the mixture inside. Afterwards, he added the cookie mix, then meshing it all together with a wooden spoon he had retrieved from a nearby drawer. When he was done, he pivoted around to face the cupboards, remembering how Entei always mentioned to members of the council one important rule of cooking – the usage of spices to make something taste better. Surely there were some sweetening seasonings Latios could add to the cookie mix to make the cookies' flavor stand out more, and if his hidden talent really did lie in the culinary arts then he would know what to add.

He floated forward and opened up a cupboard, blinking at the hordes of handheld canisters that met his sight, all lined up on the layered shelves like a disorganized army of some sort. Half of them were filled with substances that were nearly gone – proof that Entei did indeed use them – and the other half were filled to their brims, still carrying papery covers over their lids as if they had just been fetched from the store. Latios scanned his eyes over his options, completely clueless on what he could possibly add to his cookie mix; however, he kept on a firm expression so that at least Lugia wouldn't suspect something, and he reached for a random ingredient that looked appealing.

He couldn't even pronounce what it was.

A frustrated grunt emitted from him. He slowly turned his head around to meet the eyes of Lugia, who was watching him silently, obviously giving him the space she assumed he needed in order to cook properly.

She believed in him.

He couldn't just give up now.

Oh, what the hell?

"No sacrifice, no gain," he mumbled to himself, reaching forward and grabbing every single canister off the third shelf – seasonings that, going by the images on their fronts, appeared to be appropriate for cookie batter. He then carried them all to his bowl, ignoring how Lugia widened her eyes at how many he had chosen. With speed, he added them all to the mixture, making sure to carry confidence in his stride so that he at least seemed to know what he was doing – because, for a second, he thought he did; he felt a smile tug at his lips as he mixed together everything that had been placed in the bowl, wondering that perhaps cooking really was his hidden talent and that his cookies would be masterpieces when they were finished.

Afterwards, he poured the cookie batter onto a tray, molding it into multiple circular-shaped pastries before he placed it inside the kitchen's oven. Then, in silence, he and Lugia awaited the results.

When the cookies were done, Latios pulled out the tray, placing it on the countertop with such gentleness that it seemed he was handling an infant.

Lugia walked over, her head hovering over the freshly-baked cookies. She inhaled deeply, breathing in their heavenly scent. "Oh my Arceus!" she gasped. "These smell amazing!"

Latios couldn't help but smirk. "Then perhaps cooking is my hidden talent after all."

"Perhaps it is." Lugia reached forward, grabbing a cookie, its soft exterior adding to its appeal. She grinned. "Latios, I think we found your talent. Mind if I be the first to enjoy it?"

"Go ahead."

Lugia tossed the cookie into her mouth, preparing herself to taste total bliss.

However, what she tasted was the complete opposite.

As soon as the cookie touched her tongue, she keeled over, the sudden urge to gag overwhelming her. She coughed, spitting the cookie out, where it flew across the room, landing straight in the garbage can.

Latios stumbled backward from her sudden outburst, though he quickly recovered. "What? What's wrong?"

Lugia rose her head, gasping for air as if she had just been in the midst of choking. "That…that was the worst thing I've ever tasted!"

Latios' face fell, the pride he'd been carrying falling away into oblivion. He turned his eyes to his cookies, which looked like the handiwork of a professional as they sat steaming with freshness on their tray, and reached forward to grab one. He then tossed it into his mouth.

Needless to say, it wasn't long before he rushed to the sink to spit it out – and swallow large amounts of water directly from the faucet.

"Ugh," he groaned, wiping the edge of his lip. "How can something so good-looking taste so horrible?"

"When whatever myriad of seasonings you decided to add turned it into the devil's recipe," said Lugia, standing up as if she had finally recovered from her intake. She grimaced. "Perhaps cooking isn't really your hidden talent after all."

Latios sighed. "No…perhaps it isn't…"

"Hey," Lugia said, walking over towards him with a reassuring smile, "just like with the joke-telling, this is nothing but one of those failed ideas. There's still tons more where it came from. Come on. I'm not willing to give up if you're not."

Latios met her eyes, surprised that she was so willing to help him despite the obvious difficulty in the task they were trying to perform.

A smile tugged at his lips. She really was a good friend.

"Let me dispose of these first before they can make anyone else sick," he said, grabbing the tray of cookies. He floated over to the trash can, dumping them in, then heading forward to join Lugia by the door.

The two dragons left.

Meanwhile, a few seconds later, none other than Mew stumbled into the kitchen, her large eyes sailing across the room, noticing that no one was around. The faint scent of baking filled the air, causing her stomach to grumble - the very reason she had come to the kitchen was to fetch a snack that would ease the hunger she gained when Latios had told her that nacho cheese joke. She floated forward, heading towards the refrigerator, though when she passed the trash can, she caught sight of something intriguing out of the corner of her eye. She pulled back, staring into the can, where she noticed a pile of cookies was sitting innocently.

"Who would throw out perfectly-good cookies?" she wondered out loud, glancing around. Still, no one was there, so she shrugged and reached forward, gathering the cookies in her arms. She grinned. "Might as well not let them go to waste!"

-ooo-

Latios and Lugia spent the rest of the day searching for the said blue-and-white dragon's possible hidden talent. They tried everything – from dancing and singing, to sports and video games. However, there was nothing Latios seemed to be professionally skilled at – nothing that could mark him as an individual like how the ability to cause nightmares defined Darkrai or how pranking gave Raikou his own unique title. There was nothing at all.

Eventually, it was time to go home. Preparation for the party that was taking place tomorrow had finally been finished, and the Legendaries were ordered to leave the Hall and disperse for Earth. Lugia and Latios were told to do the same, and as the day slowly died away, the sun sinking below the horizon to make room for the moon and all of its glory, the two dragons said their goodbyes and departed, Lugia swearing to Latios that tomorrow they would find his hidden talent. Yet again Latios couldn't help but smile at her dedication, appreciative of the fact that she was willing to put up with so much just for him.

"Not joke-telling…not cooking…not dancing…not even sports. What am I good at?"

Latios sighed to himself as he sat in the Secret Garden of Alto Mare – the sanctuary where he and his sister, Latias, resided amongst the town, guarding its prized treasure, the Soul Dew. Nighttime had fallen upon the area, bathing it in darkness and sending its normal Pokemon inhabitants to sleep. Even Latias was snoozing away not too far off, having been exhausted from all of the drawing she had done for the party tomorrow – her own hidden talent that she was incredibly good at. This left Latios the only one awake in the area; he couldn't sleep.

"We tried everything I can think of," he muttered, not even caring that he was practically talking to himself. "Lugia…you say we'll try more stuff tomorrow…but what else is there?"

He turned his head, as if trying to find something to rest his pondering gaze on, though he blinked when he caught sight of something intriguing – a stack of white paper, resting right beside the sleeping figure of Latias, on top of it lying a pile of sharpened pencils. Latios' ears twitched in thought; he knew that Latias always carried some paper and pencils in the Secret Garden in case she suddenly grew into a drawing mood whenever they were lingering around, guarding the town and the Soul Dew. Because of this, he wasn't surprised at the fact that the paper and pencils were there, but rather at the idea that had popped into his head when he thought of what could possibly be done with the materials.

Quietly, he floated forward and grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil, then floating back to his prior position. Using the moonlight that peaked in through the canopy tops of the towering trees, he focused his eyes on the blank sheet in front of him.

And, holding the pencil steadily, he began to write. He began to write as if it was something he had been doing his entire life. He didn't stop to think over his words at all; he didn't need to.

Instead, he kept on writing, a determined expression on his face, and the memory of a certain dedicated, caring sea dragon giving him the much needed inspiration.

-ooo-

The hallways of the Hall of Legends grew bright gold whenever it was morning. Of course, today was the day of party, and therefore multi-colored decorations designed and organized by the Legendaries hung off the walls and ceiling, giving the entire temple a sense of celebration. The Legendaries themselves were gathered in the meeting room, chatting with one another as they enjoyed their time as allies, which was the purpose of the festivity to begin with.

Latios flew into the meeting room, he and his sister just having arrived from Alto Mare. Latias had immediately flown off into the crowd – presumably to meet her friends among the council – and this left Latios to continue with his own business, a piece of paper folded in his claw. He was somewhat tired for having to wake up earlier than usual to catch the start of the party, but he didn't care; he had to find Lugia.

"Hey, Latios!"

Latios turned his head, meeting the bluish-green eyes of Deoxys as she came forward.

"Hey, Deoxys," he said, sounding somewhat in a hurry.

The space virus gestured to the decorations hanging off the walls and ceiling, which consisted of origami figures modeled after the Legendaries. "Arceus mentioned you and Lugia were behind all of those. I just wanted to say good job."

"Uh…thanks," said Latios, despite that he very well knew that Lugia had been the one to make all of them.

"And I also wanted to say that that joke you told yesterday was pretty funny," continued Deoxys, "despite that I didn't really laugh at first. I think it definitely did something to Mew, though."

Latios' ears twitched in curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"She's been acting weird since last night. She said something about going into the kitchen to find some food after your joke made her hungry, finding these 'perfectly-made' cookies in the garbage can, and then spending all night eating them. Then she said this morning that they had tasted weird and they made her feel funny, and now…well…"

Deoxys pointed forward, towards the corner of the room where Mew was lying down in a fetal position, rocking back and forth with her pupils widened as if she was high on heroin.

"THE MONSTARZ CAME AND TOOK MY BABEHZ!" she randomly called out, convincing a few of the nearby Legendaries to stare at her.

Latios' face fell, gulping as Deoxys added, "Weird. Well, anyway, you seem to be in a hurry. Might I ask what you're looking for?"

The blue-and-white dragon shook his thoughts from his head. "Oh…um…Lugia. I'm looking for Lugia."

"She's over there." Deoxys pointed to the other side of the room, where Lugia was chatting with her counterpart, Ho-Oh.

"Thanks." Latios floated in that direction, though he stopped once more to turn around and shoot another glance at Mew. He shook his head in both guilt and disappointment.

_I'll deal with that later._

"Latios!" Lugia said, smiling as her blue-and-white-colored friend made his way over, Ho-Oh departing to give them room to talk. "Great party, eh? It looks like all of that decoration-making really paid off."

Latios nodded, flashing a quick smile. "Yeah…"

"So…you ready to continue our hunt of your hidden talent sometime today?"

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about." Latios opened his claw, unfolding and smoothing out the paper that had been resting in it. "A hidden talent…I attempted to find it by myself last night, and…well…"

Lugia cocked her head. "Really? What'd you try?"

"Just…look." Latios handed out the piece of paper, in which Lugia took it, scanning her eyes over its contents.

"Writing…you tried to write something?"

Latios raised his claw. "_Poem_ writing," he corrected. "I tried my hand at poetry."

"Poetry?"

A blush appeared on Latios' face, and he turned his eyes to the floor. "Just…read it. Tell me what you think."

Lugia hummed, but followed his command nonetheless. She scanned her eyes over the paper, reading it determinedly:

_Flying high in the night sky_

_Her wings made of silver_

_Shining bright in the moonlight_

_Her cry reaches out to the sea_

_Singing loudly with a voice of beauty_

_She calms those who are restless_

_Always there, always guarding_

_She's the keeper of peace_

_Protecting, watching_

_She never fails to amaze me_

Lugia blinked. The poem…it was beautiful. "Latios…"

"It's supposed to be about…" Latios turned his eyes away from her – away from his inspiration. "…something that's always been around me."

Lugia could feel a blush rise to her cheeks, and she was glad that he couldn't see it through her feathers. However, she didn't turn her gaze to the floor, instead smiling softly. "Latios…"

The blue-and-white dragon groaned. "Ugh, I know, I know. I know what you're going to say. Poetry's not my hidden talent either, isn't it?"

"No…" Lugia said, though it was for the purpose of disagreement. "I found your hidden talent."

Latios perked his head up. "You did?"

Lugia walked over, and in a sudden motion she reached her head forward, resting her forehead against his. "Not just poetry," she murmured. "You're good with words."

Latios blushed from the close contact, but he didn't move. "And I suppose that's a good 'hidden talent'?"

"It's good enough for me," Lugia said, nuzzling her forehead against his.

And, at that, Latios closed his eyes, smiled, and nuzzled back. "Then I guess it's good enough for me, too."

-ooo-

* * *

**The End**

* * *

Lol, what was in those cookies? xD

Anyway, thanks for reading!


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